WE ASKED KRIS DULGAR

NAME
Kris Dulgar


WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS CALL YOU?

They call me Darren.


WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?

Other people call me Vulgar Dulgar or just KD.


SIGN

Aries.


HOWETOWN

I was born in Trinidad, Port of Spain. I came here when I was twelve or thirteen.


HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE GAME?

7 years I would say. Most comics will remember their first time, I remember the first time but I cant remember the date or the year.


HOW DID YOU START OUT?

I just always liked comedy. I'd stay up late to watch the musical acts or comics on Letterman or Leno. And I thought, I could do that! Back in high school, I was so naive. A short 7 minute set? You don't know what they have to go through before that. It's way harder than it looks.


WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST TIME?

My first time on stage was at the Comedy Works. There weren't as many independent rooms, as much as now anyways. It was George who started the whole independent comedy scene. The Comedy Works is my home club so that was my first time. Back then I was just a customer then one day I just went up and did it! You're supposed to do 5 minutes. I think I did like 3! Yeah I was so nervous until I got off stage. It's a hard thing.


WHAT MAKES YOU FUNNY?

I have a unique observational style. I tend to look at things from a different angle. I know how to analyze and I'll cut to the heart of the matter but in a different way. I speak for other comedians when I say you cant do someone else's style. I have a unique perspective as an immigrant too. I can do racial humour. I can talk about anything. I like going from sexual to political. I always say, you can do a really smart joke that has nothing to do with sex. Once you get to the sexual jokes the audience is going to trust you more.You gotta let them know you're smart, that you're not just above average.


WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A COMEDIAN?

Being on stage with a full crowd or any crowd. Just being able to make people laugh. The worst thing? Put it this way, the best thing about being a comedian is the 15 minutes on stage and the worst thing is the 23 hours and 45 minutes that you ain't!


WHAT WAS YOUR BEST TIME ON STAGE?

One of the best times I had on stage was the Under Cover show. It was really nice. Before that room would have intimidated me but now, No. I just went up and ripped it.
My best time on stage? The Too Much shows man! The worst, probably doing comedy at Grumpy's when I was still green. Tough room. It makes you stronger. You have 10 to 15 seconds to be funny then the crowd just stops. Its a good training ground. Without Grumpy's or Too Much I never would have been able to handle Under Cover. Understand, when the crowd is noisy, you gotta yell! You gotta get their attention right away or else its done.


IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND AND COULD ONLY TAKE ONE COMIC WITH YOU, WHO WOULD IT BE?
Morgan O'Shea.


IF YOU COULD BRING BACK ONE COMEDIAN FROM THE DEAD WHO WOULD IT BE?

Pryor, for sure. I would love to pick his brain and talk to the dude. Man he was funny. He was the precursor to every comedian you see now. Carlin, Lenny.


WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COMEDY SPOT?

House of Reggae. I really like that room, it has potential. It will become a regular mainstay.


DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE JOKE?

Probably the Chapelle joke on juice, purple drank. Morgan has a great one on Oprah. She went to a Mormon compound and, and they didn't have any DVD's. 'You've never seen toy story?,' 'No,' 'You've never seen Shrek?,' 'No,' 'You've never seen Shrek 2 ?!!?!?' She actually asked this! Like, of course we haven't bitch! We only get sequels in the compound!!!!


WHAT IS YOUR COMEDY DREAM?

To make a living doing comedy. Quit my day job, travel, be funny, and make people laugh. That's freedom right there. I'm still in the trenches with these guys until one of us makes it, then were riding the coat tails! I have no doubt that we're gonna make it...Im'a make it....Somebody's gonna make it!


WHAT IS A FUNNY WORD?

I'm a big fan of the wire and I laugh every time I hear the expression “He got got.” He needs to get “got” is like he needs to get killed. Using it in the present tense AND the past tense, that's funny! Yo, he got got! Man, we use that all the time.


WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

Hangin out with the crew here. A bunch of comedians roll by and just the conversations. We're busting out jokes, tag, tag, tag, tag. There are people in the crew who aren't comics and we just laugh all the time.

WHAT IS NOT FUNNY?

Hackey jokes or what is expected, I guess. You know you have some comics who are like 'white people do this, black people do that,' or you know 'men do this, women do that.' I have a couple of those but I try to make it smart. If it has no substance to it and it doesn't have a twist, I don't like that. Try to make it interesting, try to make it different, dig deeper!!!! Also jokes about rape. I know there are funny rape jokes but if you don't do it well you'll lose the audience and your whole set is done.


WHAT IS YOUR ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE?

I guess getting my first just for laughs audition. Every comic has to audition and you don't ask them, they ask you, you know. Just to have been asked was a privilege, someone recognized. Another major achievement is the first time I did 45 minutes. I hit the thirty minute plateau at Too Much. And recently I did 30 minutes in French!


WHAT IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO AS A COMEDIAN?

Be complacent. If you reach a certain level, always strive to get to the next level. Don't be satisfied. If you have a great set you have that ego and its like shit, I'm on my way. Never ever get comfortable. Make yourself uncomfortable. As comedians that's our job.
I did my first ever show in the village at Le Drugstore and I think it was my first all gay audience. But I got up on stage and I grabbed the mic, I felt immediately comfortable. What? Just cause they're gay they don't know how to laugh? Of course not! So I tore it apart! But you gotta make yourself uncomfortable like that. Put yourself out there. Shit does happen sometimes but you gotta go through shit like that.


DO YOU EVER GET UP ON STAGE AND JUST KNOW THAT ITS WRONG?

Yeah, its so right. Sure, but as a comedian you still have to do your set. Try your best to get their attention and if its not going well, you're only as good as your last set, right? If that set goes horribly think to the next one.


HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH NEW MATERIAL?

Personal experience, everyday life and whats happening in the world. Once you find your own point of view, you can figure out how to work it into a joke with your own comedic style. Also I'm allowed to have an opinion on something I've never experienced before, that's the beauty of comedy. Everyone should have an opinion. That's how it is. As long as you have an opinion you can make a funny joke. Or not. Give up, quit the game.

HAZARDS OF THE JOB?

That internal struggle with yourself. Comedy is an exploration of the self, so you're going to learn a lot of things about yourself that you're not ready for personally. Also, everything you do will be for comedy so you're going to have to sacrifice. New comedians you might have to cross that bridge where you're going to have to sacrifice a relationship or two.


DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR UP AND COMERS?

Advice to new comedians? Quit, quit now! Ya'll ain't shit. You don't know! You're in for years and years of pain, depression, guilt, suicidal tendencies. If you tell me you're happy doing comedy, you ain't a comedian!
Write, and get on any stage as much as you can. You need to build up that confidence. You cant give up. You're always going to doubt yourself for a long time but you just write and keep going up on stage, don't give up. If you don't write anything funny, you just write.  And the funny will come.


DO YOU HAVE A COMEDIC PHILOSOPHY?

Never be afraid to put yourself out there. Don't be afraid. It's nerve racking. You have to worry about going on stage, looking at those people, it takes a while for your voice to shine through. My comedic philosophy is work hard, and if you ever tell yourself that you're working hard, you ain't working hard enough!